Centre for Surgical Research, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol BS8 2PS, UK.
Br J Cancer. 2013 Sep 3;109(5):1181-91. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.461. Epub 2013 Aug 8.
Breast reconstruction (BR) may improve psychosocial and cosmetic outcomes after mastectomy for breast cancer but currently, few women opt for surgery. Reasons for this are unclear. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore access to care and the provision of procedure choice to women seeking reconstructive surgery.
Semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of patients who had undergone BR and professionals providing specialist care explored participants' experiences of information provision before BR. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the constant comparative technique of grounded theory. Sampling, data collection and analysis were performed concurrently and iteratively until data saturation was achieved.
Both patients and professionals expressed concerns about the provision of adequate procedure choice and access to care. Lack of information and/or time, involvement in decision making and issues relating to the evolution and organisation of reconstructive services, emerged as potential explanations for the inequalities seen. Interventions to improve cross-speciality collaboration were proposed to address these issues.
Inequalities in the provision of choice in BR exist, which may be explained by a lack of integration between surgical specialities. Pathway restructuring, service reorganisation and standardisation of training may enhance cross-speciality collaboration and improve the patient experience.
乳腺癌乳房切除术可能会改善心理社会和美容结局,但目前很少有女性选择手术。原因尚不清楚。本定性研究旨在探讨寻求重建手术的女性的护理途径和提供手术选择。
对接受过乳房重建且提供专业护理的患者进行了有针对性的半结构式访谈,探讨了患者在进行乳房重建之前获得信息的经验。访谈逐字记录,并使用扎根理论的恒定比较技术进行分析。抽样、数据收集和分析同时进行并反复进行,直到达到数据饱和。
患者和专业人员都对提供足够的手术选择和获得护理表示关注。缺乏信息和/或时间、参与决策以及与重建服务的演变和组织相关的问题,被认为是导致不平等的潜在原因。提出了改善跨专业合作的干预措施来解决这些问题。
在提供乳房重建选择方面存在不平等现象,这可能是由于外科专业之间缺乏整合所致。途径重构、服务重组和培训标准化可能会加强跨专业合作,改善患者体验。